Overall, I’d have to say 1984 was one of the strongest years in the line for ARAH. The GI Joe and Cobra characters introduced in this year would remain icons for the brand in the decades to come, and are probably among the most popular. Today’s subject, Wild Weasel, may not be as beloved as Firefly or Zartan, but is still probably the most highly regarded Cobra pilot.
No doubt, part of his appeal is likely the fact that he was included with the Cobra Rattler, which is by far one of the coolest aircraft in the line. Larry Hama also made good use of the character, with some memorable issues of the comic featuring Wild Weasel such as #34. Wild Weasel comes of as a competent and serious adversary, a nice contrast to the simplistic and thug-like nature of a character like Copperhead.
The actual toy itself is a good one. He’s cast in crimson red plastic that really stands out through the canopy of his Rattler and other vehicles. The details are also really strong on the figure, with his black accents, silver Cobra sigil on his arm, blue undershirt, and the detailed maps featured on each of his legs. I think comparatively, the painted details are standard for the year he came out in, but the tampographed maps really set him over the top.
Like a lot of the 1984 Cobras, Wild Weasel’s sculpt is very detailed. The torso in particular is covered in seams, belts and pockets with my favorite detail being the open collar. The open collar was one of those kinds of details that helped define him as an individual with a bit of personality and helped set him apart from generic troops like the HISS Driver.
Similar to other early vehicle drivers, Wild Weasel came with no parts. I still don’t have a Rattler in my collection, so this can make Wild Weasel a little tricky to use from time to time. Personally I think V1 Destro’s pistol is generic enough that it can make a decent side-arm for him, though Scrap-Iron also provides an alternative weapon that could compliment him from the early line. Regardless, it’s nice that the production budget for the figure went more into his painted details then a forgettable gun most examples wouldn’t have anymore.
Wild Weasel’s are dirt cheap oddly enough. Mint figures with their filecard on occasion will go from $5 to $10, but usually the former. Even without his Rattler, there’s plenty of Cobra planes he makes a sweet pilot for, so I can’t imagine not acquiring one. Compared to his contemporaries that’s really cheap, making me wonder if I overrate his prominence a bit. More likely, it’s a good example of this figure being overshadowed by collector favorites like Zartan and the Stinger Driver.
Part of the reason he’s cheap is he’s a character, not an army builder, and a c-list one, to be honest…close to b-list…but not much can be said about him besides being Cobra’s supposed best pilot. In the comics he had a sense of honor in his duel with Ace. His major storyline involved mucking about in swamp! In the cartoons, the Rattlers were seen just as often without him and with him, and no major story purpose to any of his appearances. But at least he was there.
Why no comic pack repaint, ARAH or modern style, of him from his early marvel appearance? Strange they passed on something so easy.
You bring up some good points about him. He does look quite nice, but the figure itself isn’t super memorable. Now that I know they’re cheap, though, I’ll likely grab one to put in my 25th Anniversary Rattler.
Love the parachute photo, btw.
A repaint made too much sense. At least we have the Funskool version.
When compared to his contemporaries, he’s not great. But, in the grand scheme of things, he’s not bad at all. The parachute photo is great, too.
Wild Weasel’s a really good mold, but he’s a pilot, so that makes him really hard to use outside of the Rattler. Definitely a mold that could’ve used a couple repaints, though.
Part of the reason why WW is so readily-available on the secondary market is that he was available as a mail-away premium from Hasbro for years even after the Rattler was no longer sold in stores.